Community News

The Boca Raton Tribune C O M M U N I T Y

Boc a Raton’s “Light the Lights ” to Introduce New Interac tive Holiday Display at Mizner Park

Light Up Boca, a series of winter holiday festivities, kicks off on Saturday, November 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Mizner Park Amphitheater (MPA), 590 Plaza Real, with Light the Lights, a FREE holiday happening, culminating with the City of Boca Raton’s and Mizner Park’s annual tree lighting ceremony.

The centerpiece of Mizner Park and Downtown Boca’s holiday display will be an enchanted walk-through experience throughout the park’s median with 16’ x 10’ illuminated tree canopy walkway reflective of a white magical forest. The path will reveal a series of large, dramatic ice crystals. Across from the Mizner Park Amphitheater will be an outdoor lighted art gallery with three interactive custom picture frames that invite guests to be a part of. Complementing the decor will be cascading style lighted fountains of lights at the main fountain and patterned golden/ bronze light poles.

“This inaugural holiday display will truly transform Downtown Boca into a winter wonderland,” said Amy DiNorscio, Amphitheater and Community Events Manager for the City of Boca Raton. “This fun, festive and interactive experience will usher in a new tradition and attract visitors to the area throughout the holiday season.”

The production is brought to Boca Raton by Chitwood Studios, who for more than 20 years has created unique visual presentations with lighting, projection and scenery for such companies as Disney, Facebook, the World Games, Phillips Electronics and many more.

Fe s t iv i t i e s w i l l i n c l u d e h o l i d ay vendors; DJ Disco Dance Party with games and snow flurries from 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.; photos with Santa; trackless train rides; letters to Santa; a giant snow globe for photo opportunities; costumed characters; food and beverage vendors; and a stage show, “Hollywood Holiday” with singing dancing and a live band at 7:30 p.m.

The evening will feature the ceremonial lighting of the City’s tree led by Mayor Scott Singer and City Council at 7:15 p.m., that will illuminate simultaneously with Mizner Park’s 30-foot white tree at the south end of the center and all of the holiday lighting throughout Downtown Boca.

Throughout Mizner Park, 50,000 LED lights will adorn 75 palm trees; poles will be laced with garland; lights and four wreaths (each 60” in diameter) will be placed throughout the center; garland will be swooped throughout the gazebos and the valet parking station – all of which will be decorated with lights and holiday trimmings.

Your favorite Mizner Park restaurants will be open with special seating options offering great views of the holiday décor and lights. Please contact the restaurants directly for more information.

The centerpiece of Mizner Park and Downtown Boca’s holiday display will be an enchanted walkthrough experience. Association of Public and Landgrant Universities Names FAU Winner

The Association of Public and Landgrant Universities (APLU) today named Florida Atlantic University the winner of its 2022 Degree Completion Award. The annual award works to identify, recognize and reward institutions that employ innovative approaches to improve degree completion while ensuring educational quality. This is the first time FAU has been the recipient of this prestigious award, and the second year in a row that the APLU has named FAU a finalist.

“It is an honor to receive the APLU Degree Completion Award,” said FAU President John Kelly. “Our graduation and retention rates skyrocketed in recent years, thanks to the efforts of Florida Atlantic’s faculty and staff, who work tirelessly to ensure our students succeed. We are creating waves of change in the lives of our students and delivering on the promise of opportunity for all.”

When Kelly joined FAU as president in 2014, the university launched a comprehensive plan to address equity gaps, advance student success, and increase the university’s graduation rate. After taking an exhaustive look at student success outcomes, disaggregated across a variety of characteristics, FAU determined that far too many students were lacking adequate support in entry-level courses.

To address this, FAU launched a crossinstitutional analytics platform to help inform and track the effectiveness of student success interventions. These reforms included: the adoption of standardized “flight plans,” enabling students to easily see the optimal progression of courses to a degree; addressing course bottlenecks that were preventing students from graduating in a timely manner; and innovative financial assistance incentivizing students to register for the next semester.

The multipronged approach contributed to FAU more than doubling its four-year graduation rate from 19 percent in 2014 to 50 percent in 2021. Crucially, gains have been largest among historically underserved groups, including black, Latino, and Pell-eligible students.

“Florida Atlantic University has made critical strides in student success, graduation, and equity,” said Mark Becker, president of APLU. “Congratulations to FAU on winning the 2022 APLU Degree Completion Award. We’re delighted to spotlight their important work so other institutions can learn from their success.”

FAU is one of the nation’s most diverse public research universities. It is the highest-ranked Florida state university by U.S. News and World Report and listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac. It is also the No. 17 bachelor’s degree producer for African American students in the nation by Diverse: Issues in Education, as well as designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

“It is an honor to receive the APLU Degree Completion Award,” said FAU President John Kelly.

S A V E T H E D A T E !

A ce l e b ra t i o n o f re a l h e ro e s, p r i n ce s s a n d fa i r y ta l e c h a ra c te r s, a n d s u p e r h e ro e s Saturday, January 14 • 10am-2pm

Boynton Beach Amphitheatre in Centennial Park

Event Activities will include: • Princess and Superhero Costume Parade • Music • Meet and Greet with local heros (Police and Firefighters) • Stor ytelling • Arts and crafts • Bounce House • And More!

schoolhousemuseum.org

B ooths and sponsorships available, call Suzanne at (561) 742-6778 or suzanne@schoolhousemuseum.org

Loc al Dance Students Head to Big Apple to Per form in Mac y ’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Students from ProAm Dance Studio and Boca Dance Studio will travel together to New York City this November to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, capping a months-long effort to prepare for the major event.

Joining hundreds of other dancers from all over the U.S., the students will perform under the direction of Spirit of America Productions.In addition to dance rehearsals for the parade, the jampacked week-long trip will also include the chance for the students to attend Broadway shows, watch the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, and enjoy sightseeing throughout the city.

“Performing in the Macy’s Parade is nothing short of a dancer’s dream,” says Melanie Gibbs, owner of the two sister dance studios.”It’s a fantastic opportunity for our students to participate in a professional-level production in New York City with fellow dancers from around the country.That it is broadcast on live television for the entire nation is a bonus!It’s truly the trip of a lifetime.”

This will be the seventh time ProAm Dance Studio has dancers traveling to perform in the famous parade; for Boca Dance Studio it will be the third time. Nearly 30 students have been fundraising for the trip since March by washing cars, babysitting, holding bake sales, and more. With Thanksgiving Day growing closer, the dancers are keen to get to the Big Apple and begin their adventure. ProAm Dance Studio senior Evie Breckenridge says she is looking forward to fulfi lling her dream of being a part of this special holiday tradition and traveling to New York City for her fi rst time. “My teammates and I are excited to be in New York City together to perform in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and do all the fun activities Spirit of America has planned” Breckenridge says.

To watch the dancers perform, tune in to the live coverage of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, Thursday, November 24 from 9:00AM to 12:00PM.

ProAm Dance Studio, located in Pompano Beach, and Boca Dance Studio, located in Boca Raton, offer classes in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and acrobatics, proudly serving students ages 12 months to teens.

Boc a Helping Hands Needs Help Feeding More Families Than Ever Before for Thanksgiving

Boca Helping Hands is seeking help from the community to distribute meals to families for Thanksgiving and through the holiday season. Its 18th annual Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, which provides a turkey and a box fi lled with everything a family needs to prepare a holiday meal, is projected to feed over 3,200 families this year. Community members can get involved by donating the cost of a box for $31.48 at BocaHelpingHands.org/Thanksgiving.

Prior to the pandemic, Boca Helping Hands typically distributed about 2,000 turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes to local families each year, increasing that to a record 2,958 turkeys and boxes last November. With food prices rising 11.4% higher over the past year – the l a r g e s t a n n u al increase since May 1979 – it’s now costing even more to feed families at the same time that so many are looking for relief.

“We know some families are really strug gling right now, and Dalfen Industrial is proud to support a program that eases some of their burden around the Holidays,” said Murray Dalfen, Chairman of Dalfen Industrial, a Thanksgiving Box Brigade suppor ter. Other Box Brigade supporters include Falcone Group, NDM Hospitality, Robert & Anita Kriensky, Verizon, Vertical Bridge, and Phoenix Tower International.

Boca Helping Hands will distribute the turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes to current Pantry Bag Program clients the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov. 19 and 20) at its fi ve drive-thru distribution locations in east Boca Raton, west Boca, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and Lake Worth.

“We are so grateful to the community each year for their food drives and Thanksgiving box donations,” said BHH Executive Director Greg Hazle. “Their generosity means that people who would not otherwise be able to sit down for a holiday meal can enjoy one with their family.”

Although there has been tremendous community support for the Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, food insecurity remains a problem year-round – especially now with infl ation stretching families’ budgets even thinner. Boca Helping Hands is currently having to purchase more food than ever before to supplement its food recovery efforts. BHH recently surpassed 8,000 pantry bags distributed in a month for the fi rst time in its histor y; the organization was averaging 6,100 bags per month during the height of the pandemic. As consumer food prices and housing costs remain higher than usual, BHH expects that more families will need to utilize their pantry bags of groceries and hot meal program to help make ends meet.

To help, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org/Thanksgiving and donate the cost of a Thanksgiving box ($31.48). Any contributions that exceed Thanksgiving expenses will be used to provide food throughout the year, helping to support the 181,000 families in Palm Beach County facing food insecurity.

About Boca Helping Hands

Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofi t that provides food, medical and fi nancial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency. Through its various programs, BHH assists over 27,000 people annually. I n 2 0 2 1 , BHH distributed more than 70,000 pantry bags from five Palm Beach County locations and served nearly 80,000 hot meals. T h e o r g a n i z a tion expands access to affordable medical, dental and behavioral care through its partnerships with Genesis Community Health (ser ving clients at clinics in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach) and Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Community Based Clinics (serving residents in West Palm Beach). In addition, BHH sends weekend meals home with food-insecure elementary school students via the BHH Backpacks Program and assists working families with the rising cost of childcare through the Children’s Assistance Program (CAP).

With an increased focus on client selfsuffi ciency, BHH awards scholarships for qualifi ed candidates to attend accredited vocational training classes that prepare them for careers in the healthcare, information technology, construction, and transportation industries. BHH also offers free English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, courses in nutrition, and other life skills. In addition, staff and volunteer mentors counsel the unemployed and underemployed in basic workplace skills and help them polish resumes and search for jobs.

Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and fi nancial stability.

Boca Helping Hands holds accreditation for Sound Nonprofi t Management from Nonprofi ts First, has a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar, and was named a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator for the 15th consecutive year in 2021. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.